Welcome to the Shared-Use Mobility Center’s weekly guide to the most impactful news, thought-provoking articles and innovative technologies that are shaping our transportation future. We believe in sharing information, just like sharing cars, bikes, and scooters, so if there’s anything additional you’d like to see, just drop us a line.
Announcements
Don’t miss the shared mobility event of the year!
Sign up today and reserve your room before we sell out.
National Shared Mobility Summit
March 17 – 19, 2020 | Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago
Meet our newest plenary speaker:
Tracey Zhen, President of Zipcar
Does carsharing have a role in a multimodal future? Find out at the 2020 National Shared Mobility Summit.
On Thursday, March 19th, Zipcar President Tracey Zhen will talk about what’s happening overall in the carsharing industry as well as the dynamics that have shaped the withdrawal of many carshare companies from the US market and how carsharing will fit with other shared modes in the future.
You can dive deeper into the topic with our breakout session, “Lessons Learned and the Future of Carshare,” which includes SUMC’s Program Manager, Bolloré Blue Systems, Getaround, and other leaders in the industry.
Great Workshop News
We’ve updated the cutting-edge content and given you more registration options. Workshops are for registered Summit attendees only, so remember to grab your ticket today!
Explore Summit Workshops on March 17, 2020
Register now and hear all our incredible plenary speakers
Read about the over 100 panelists we have on our breakout sessions and workshops on our Summit site.
Summit Volunteers needed! Apply here.
Ridehailing/Carsharing/Carpooling
A bill setting regulations on P2P carsharing was recently approved in a Florida House Committee, planting a flag in the lengthy battle between platforms, traditional car rental companies, and lawmakers.
Uber is piloting a new dial-a-ride feature in Arizonan to make the mobility app more accessible to the non-tech savvy.
UK-based company HelloEV has launched a new app that allows organizations and communities to turn their own EVs into a local carsharing service that uses keyless booking.
The ridehailing giant of the East, Did Chuxing, is expanding its service to Australia’s biggest ridehailing market: Sydney.
Partnerships and Programs
The North Carolina DOT is accepting applications, as part of a new grant program, for municipalities to develop comprehensive bicycle or pedestrian plans. Read more on Mass Transit magazine.
Ozark Regional Transit has started a free on-demand microtransit service in Rogers, AK, in partnership with Canadian transit tech company Pantonium.
Scooter use has been booming in Charlotte, NC which has seen about 2.1 million trips since the start of its dockless mobility pilot in May 2018—all thanks to the city’s data-driven planning with mobility management company Passport.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has announced a Transit Quick Build Program to help streamline transit improvements that aim to fix reliability and street safety at critical transit corridors.
Bikesharing and Micromobility
How much higher is the safety risk posed by dockless scooters compared to riding a bike? Virtually nothing, according to a new report out of the International Transport Forum.
Learn how Bird worked with the City of Paris to outline “preferred parking” spots, in-app, for scooter-sharing riders using real-time navigation and GPS-enabled alerts and how that has cleaned up micromobility sidewalk clutter.
Sonoma County has approved a program to launch a fleet of 300 pedal-assist e-bikes, provided by Gotcha Mobility, near SMART rail stations.
Reddy Bikeshare in Buffalo, NY has seen such a great year in ridership and community building that city officials are planning to bump up the number of stations and bikes for the growing system.
Transit
A recent Chicago Tribune opinion piece asked readers to choose the best way to provide desperately-needed, equitable transportation access in the Far South Side: more affordable Metra fares/service or a Red Line Extension. Streetsblog quotes transit analyst Yonah Freemark in their opinion that, in reality, Far South Siders deserve both.
The free-transit conversation is getting nationwide coverage, and the potential quality of life improvements for day-to-day users helps to explain why, but the service will need to be reliable and accessible for everyone for it to work.
Recently, Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority CEO Matt Carpenter talked about the carbon-neutrality goals for the city’s transit system at a local sustainability forum and what it would take to realign bus improvements to stay on track for better ridership.
San Francisco planners and residents in the Bayview neighborhood are working in tandem to use grassroots efforts and community-focused feedback to bring pedestrian safety features and bike network buildouts to the area.
Technology
Hyundai and the US Department of Energy have inked a deal to expand fuel cell and hydrogen tech in various regions across the country, including The District.
There’s a massive trove of transportation data available, and even with shifting tech and innovation it can help make our mobility systems smarter. The challenge lies in making those data decisions and Arity has a few suggestions.
Jaguar Land Rover has unveiled an EV autonomous shuttle concept that is aimed at shared use and last-mile goods delivery called “Project Vector” that’s slated for testing by 2021.
Digging through a sea of public transportation data can make it hard for agencies to use the right information to fix transit bottlenecks—but Transport for Greater Manchester and data platform Snowflake may have the beginnings of a smart solution.
Urban Sustainability
Our city leaders should always look out for the safety of people on their streets. If our mayors believe in #VisionZero, then they will need to support and champion policies and programs that keep pedestrians, cyclists, and micromobility users safe.
What’s the ideal measurement of urban density? City Observatory looks at a potentially more useful method that considers walkability and the closeness of local amenities.
More car-free zones are always needed for safer, sustainable, and more efficient transportation systems so why hasn’t LA joined the club? Well, a new proposal in the city wants to make it happen for Broadway street.
“I can’t do that on a bike!” Streetsblog wants to let you know that yes, yes you can. Check out all the examples of people carrying extraordinary things on their two wheels.
Requests for Proposals, Inquiries, and Information
Bedford Park RFQ is a first/last mile solution to a unique problem
The Village of Bedford Park, outside of Chicago, is an industrial suburb where jobs outnumber residents by more than 50 to 1. With the support of Cook County, the Village has been studying ways to improve workers’ commutes around the clock. A new pilot, Connect2Work, aims to increase transit connections and job access with shared mobility services. SUMC, along with team members Antero Group and the Active Transportation Alliance, is providing technical assistance for the project and encourages transportation and technology providers to apply.
View the RFQ below.
RFQ: Connect2Work
The Village of Bedford Park, Illinois
Bedford Park, Illinois
Deadline Extended: February 28, 2020
RFP: Accelerating Clean Transportation Now (ACTNow)
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
Boston, MA
Deadline: March 3, 2020
RFP-Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan
Sunset Empire Transportation District
Astoria, OR
Deadline: March 16, 2020
RFP: Safe Routes to School Plan
City of Salinas
Salinas, CA
Deadline: March 18, 2020
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